This interesting chaire (tea caddy) is part of a series of mostly antique and vintage items that we recovered from the storehouse of a retired construction contractor. His house is located in the southern part of Kyoto, where buildings from the Edo and Meiji periods still stand. His son not being interested in inheriting his father's collection, we were asked to take them out, and we are now able to present them to you.

This particular piece is a little bit of a mistery. It could be an Agano ware from the town of Fukuchi in northern Kyushu, or a Kyoto ware, since it bears the seal of the Hara Ryokaku company, a more than 300 hundred year old Kyoto spice making company founded by Hara Ryokaku, a descendant of one of the famed forty seven ronin (samurai without a master).

The chaire probably was originally a spice container; it features a spoon-hole on its side, and the gebuta (ivory lid) is more recent than the pot. One of the former owners reinvented that tea caddy, charmed by its attractive round shape and dignifying glaze, worthy of ancient tearooms.